Eurovision 2024. Israeli singer bullied during rehearsals for second semi-final – Television

The second semi-final of Eurovision 2024 takes place this Thursday, May 9, and promises to be tense and not in keeping with the spirit of celebration and unity that is promoted by the event. This is because Israel’s participation in this edition has been highly criticized, due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has already claimed more than 35,000 lives.

The person who has suffered from this controversy has been Eden Golan, the Israeli representative. The singer, just 20 years old, was booed during the rehearsal this Wednesday, the 8th. As you can see from videos posted on social media, there are whistles, screams and slogans like “you’re no good!” and “liberate Palestine!” Eden, who will perform the theme “Hurricane”, has been shielded from direct contact with the public since arriving in Malmö, Sweden, and did not even participate in the delegation welcome eventwhich took place last Sunday, May 5th.

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These rehearsals are only open to Eurovision fans and also duly accredited journalists. On social media, there is outrage regarding this aggressive stance and harassment of the Israeli singer, but there are also those who support this type of protest.

In a recent interview, cited by the “New York Times”, Eden Golan said that representing Israel has “enormous meaning”, due to the moment the country is going through. “I’m not going to let anything break me or divert me from my path,” says the singer. “I’m here to show the voice of an entire nation, to show that we are here, that we are strong, even though we are emotional and broken,” Golan added.

This Thursday, 9, 16 countries are fighting for a place in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus, Croatia, Ireland and Luxembourg are already qualified for the final, which takes place this Saturday, May 11, and is broadcast directly on RTP1 and RTP Play.